Self-closing cap with a pouring spout for containers such as cans and the like

ABSTRACT

A self-closing cap with a pouring spout for containers and cans which converts the container to a convenient sanitary pitcher and consisting of a cap body and a disk valve and in which the cap body has an annular lower wall or band or skirt forming the lower portion of the cap body, said lower portion having means whereby the cap is detachably secured to the container, the cap body including an upper wall extending upwardly of the lower wall with said upper wall having a spout at the front thereof, a convexoconcave shaped top wall connected to the cap body and provided with an outlet pour opening adjacent the spout, a disk valve positioned in said cap body below the convexo-concave shaped top wall and connected to the top wall so that it is pivotable or tiltable or rockable with respect to said top wall and adapted when the container is tilted to pouring position to automatically tilt or pivot the disk valve in respect to the outlet pour opening to permit passage of the contents in the container through the outlet pour opening and the spout and when the container is positioned in upright position the disk valve will move by gravity to a position to substantially close the outlet pour opening.

United States Patent [1 1 Levin Nov. 4, 1975 SELF-CLOSING CAP WITH APOURING SPOUT FOR CONTAINERS SUCH AS CANS AND THE LIKE [75] Inventor:Myron M. Levin, Niles, Ill.

[73] Assignee: E-Z Por Corporation, Niles, Ill.

[22] Filed: Sept. 23, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 508,678

[52] US. Cl. 222/556 [51] Int. Cl. B65D 47/20 [58] Field of Search222/556, 500, 463

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,501,636 3/1950 Smith222/500 2,730,273 l/l956 Smith 222/500 X Primary ExaminerAllen N.Knowles Assistant Examiner-Norman L. Stack, Jr. Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Max R. Kraus [57] ABSTRACT A self-closing cap with a pouring spoutfor containers and cans which converts the container to a convenientsanitary pitcher and consisting of a cap body and a disk valve and inwhich the cap body has an annular lower wall or band or skirt formingthe lower portion of the cap body, said lower portion having meanswhereby the cap is detachably secured to the container, the cap bodyincluding an upper wall extending upwardly of the lower wall with saidupper wall having a spout at the front thereof, a convexo-concave shapedtop wall connected to the cap body and provided with an outlet pouropening adjacent the spout, a disk valve positioned in said cap bodybelow the convexo-concave shaped top wall and connected to the top wallso that it is pivotable or tiltable or rockable with respect to said topwall and adapted when the container is tilted to pouring position toautomatically tilt or pivot the disk valve in respect to the outlet pouropening to permit passage of the contents in the container through theoutlet pour opening and the spout and when the container is positionedin upright position the disk valve will move by gravity to a position tosubstantially close the outlet pour opening.

10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 3,917,131

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SELF-CLOSING CAP WITH A POURING SPOUT FOR CONTAINERS SUCH AS CANS ANDTHE LIKE BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to aself-closing cap with a pouring spout particularly useful for cans andthe like and may likewise be used in connection with containers such asbottles, and whereby the can or container is converted to a sanitarypitcher, and in which the cap is readily cleaned and reusable on othercans and containers.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a cap of theforegoing character which is formed of a plastic material such aspolyethylene or the like which is sufficiently pliable and non-rigid sothat the cap may be formed essentially of two parts, namely, a cap bodywhich includes a spout and a top wall integrally formed and, as a secondcomponent, a disk valve which is inserted into the cap body through thebottom open end of the cap body, and in which the disk valve is tiltablyor pivotally connected to the top wall and is tiltable or pivotable withrespect to the outlet pour opening adjacent the spout so that when thecontainer is tilted to a pouring position the disk valve willautomatically tilt or pivot with respect to the outlet pour opening topermit passage of the container contents through the outlet pour openingand spout, and when the container is positioned in a normal uprightposition the disk valve will move by gravity to a position tosubstantially close the outlet pour opening.

Another object of this invention is to provide a disk valve which ispivotally connected to the top wall of the cap body in a positionremoved from the axis of the disk valve and the axis of the top wall sothat the disk valve will tilt downwardly adjacent the front of theoutlet pour opening when the container is in normal upright position toclose the outlet pour opening and thereby cover the outlet opening inthe top wall of the container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cap body which may bequickly attached to and detached from the container and which providesthrough said freely tiltable disk valve an adequate closure and anautomatic seal for the mouth of the container by closing the outletopening in the top wall of the cap body to in effect seal off thecontents in the container against contamination or absorption of odorsand to prevent evaporation of the liquid contents in said container. Itmaintains the liquid in the container fresh and sanitary and seals inthe flavor. It is easy to clean. It provides a cap which turns a can orcontainer into a convenient sanitary pitcher.

Another object of this invention resides in the simple and inexpensivemanner of manufacturing the cap and the manner in which the disk valveis easily attachable to the cap body and being so constructed that thedisk valve automatically moves and/or pivots to permit pouring when thecontainer is tilted to a pouring position and which automatically movesto a closed position when the container is in an upright non-pouringposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a top planview of the cap forming this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof as applied to the top of a canor container.

FIG. 3 is a central cross-sectional view showing same applied to thecontainer, with the container in normal upright position and with thedisk valve in a closed position.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the container and the capin tilted pouring position and the position of the disk valve in suchpouring position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing particularlythe parts whereby the disk valve is pivotally secured to the cap.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the parts shown in FIG. 6connected for pivotal movement of the disk valve; and

FIG. 8 is a view taken on line 88 of FIG. 7.

The conventional container in the form of a can, as shown herein andindicated at 12, is provided at the top with the conventional annularperipheral bead or rim generally indicated at 14 and with the top end ofthe can closed by a horizontal top wall 16. The rim 14 is formed by theperipheral edge of the top wall 16 which extends upwardly as at 17 ofthe top wall and then is turned downwardly as at 18 over the top edge ofthe can and is crimped to the upper edge of the body of the can forpermanent attachment to the can body. Said upper rim 14 is conventional.When the cap of this invention is used in connection with such acontainer, one or more openings 20 and 22 are punched in the top wall 16of the container, with the opening 22 being closely adjacent the rim andwhich opening then forms the outlet pour opening of the container. Thecap forming this invention is readily attachable to the upper rim orbead 14 of the container and when so attached the device forming thisinvention serves as a self-closing cap for the container as well as apouring spout therefor.

The cap body as well as the valve disk are each separately molded of aplastic material such as polyethylene or the like. The cap bodygenerally indicated at 24 has an annular skirt or band 26 which formsthe lower portion of the cap body. Formed integrally with the skirt orband 26 is an inner annular band 28 which is connected to but is spacedfrom the outer annular skirt 26 and which provides an annular recess 29therebetween. The inner annular band 28 of the skirt is shorter inheight than the outer annular skirt 26, as can best be seen incross-section in FIG. 5.

The inside wall of the outer annular skirt is provided adjacent itslower end with an annular inwardly extending rib or lip 30 which tapersor inclines as at 32 to the bottom edge 33 of the annular skirt 26. Theannular rib or lip 30 is below the bottom edge of the inner annular ring28. This arrangement, as shown, permits the cap body to be readilypositioned on the top rim 14 of the container, with the annular rib orlip 30 engaging the downwardly turned portion 18 of the upper rim of thecontainer and with a portion of the upper rim 14 extending into theannular groove or recess 29.

Extending upwardly of the skirt 26 is. an upper wall 34 which flaresoutwardly of the skirt and which for its major portion is annular andfollows the annular portion of the skirt, except for the front portionwhich extends outwardly and forwardly as indicated at 36, to form thefront pour spout indicated at 38. The shape of the front spout end isgenerally ovaloid as viewed in 3 FIG. 1. The upper outwardly flared wall34 continues from the rear toward the front to form the generallyovaloid-shaped front spout 38. The spout extends up wardly of the topedge or rim 40 of the annular upper flared wall 34.

Formed as an integral part of the cap body and particularly the upperflared wall is a dome-shaped or convexo-concave shaped top wallgenerally indicated at 42, the annular peripheral edge 44 of which isintegral with the inside of the upper flared wall 34 along saidperipheral edge as it is molded as part of same and said top wall 42extends to the front portion, which front portion is provided with anarcuate shaped cutout 46 adjacent the spout 38. The arcuate-shapedcutout 46 in the dome or convexo-concave-shaped top wall 42 forms theoutlet pour opening of the cap through which the liquid or contents ofthe container is poured as it enters the spout 38 when the container istilted or tipped to a pouring position, as shown in FIG. 4. The top edgeor rim 40 of the outwardly flared upper wall 34, as best seen in FIG. 2,extends from the rear portion 48 and curves downwardly as at 49 and thenrises at its forward end as at 50 at the spout end and, as will be seenin FIG. 2, the central portion of the dome or top wall 42 extends abovethe plane of the shallow portion 49 of the rim 40.

Extending downwardly from the inside of the domeshaped top orconvexo-concave wall 42 is an extension or post generally indicated at52 which extension or post has a generally U-shaped recess 54 at thelower end to provide a pair of spaced legs 56, the inside wall of saidlegs forming inwardly extending projections 57 adjacent the lower endsthereof, which continue with outwardly sloping surfaces 58 to facilitatethe initial insertion of the disk valve. The opposite sides 60 of theextension or post 52 taper downwardly and inwardly. The lower end of theextension or post 52 terminates in a plane upwardly of the bottom edgeof the inner ring 28 and said extension or post is alined with thecenter of the outlet pour opening 46 but is positioned off-center orrearwardly of the vertical axis of the top wall 42 of the cap to permitthe disk valve to tilt forwardly, as in FIG. 3, when in uprightposition. A small opening 62 is provided in the dome-shaped top wall 42.

The annular-shaped disk valve generally designated at 64 is of aconvexo-concave shape and is also formed of a plastic material such aspolyethylene or the like and said disk valve has a pair of spacedrectangularshaped openings 66, which openings are alined and areseparated by an intermediate wall portion 68. The openings 66 areoff-center and are positioned rearwardly of the vertical axis of thedisk valve 64. The circumference of the disk valve 64 is such that itcan be inserted into the cap body through the open bottom end of the capbody and is attachable to the extension or post 52 of the cap body byalining the openings 66 with the spaced legs 56 of the extension or postand pushing the disk valve inwardly so that the intermediate wall 68passes the inward projections 57 of the spaced legs. After the diskvalve has been thus connected it will be held secured to the cap bodyfor pivotal movement with respect to the cap body and the inwardprojections 57 on the legs 56 will prevent accidental detachment of thedisk valve with respect to said cap body. However, for the purpose ofcleaning, the disk valve may be manually detached from the extension orpost 52 and then may be again manually attached as described.

positioned in said cap body below said top wall, means 4 It will be seenthat the downward extension or post 52 on the cap body and the spacedopenings .66 in the disk valve are positioned in alinement with theoutlet pour opening 46 of the cap top wall 42 but are spaced rearwardlyof the axis of the cap body. The downward extension 52 and the openings66 in the disk valve provide a pivotal connection between the disk valve64 and cap body which is such that the disk valve is free to tilt orpivot or rock in respect to the cap body and the outlet pour opening 46by the tilted or upright position I in which the container is held. Thatis, the disk valve 64 while not rotatable with respect to the cap bodyis in effect free floating in respect to the cap body in the sense thatit is pivotable or tiltable freely, dependent upon the position of thecontainer and said pivoting is by gravity.

When the container and cap are tilted, as shown in FIG. 4, the forwardportion of the disk valve 64 will tilt or pivot away from its normallyclosed position, shown in FIG. 3, to provide an entrance opening 70 intothe spout so that the liquid or contents in the container can pourthrough the opening 70 and through the outlet pour opening 46 of the capwhen it is left exposed by the tilting of the disk valve at the front,and the liquid or contents or the container will flow out through thespout to be discharged therefrom. When the container is positioned toits upright position as shown in FIG. 3, the disk valve 64 will begravity assume its normal tilted position due to the off-center pivotalconnection, and the disk valve will tilt downwardly at the frontadjacent the spout end so that the front of the disk valve is on ahorizontal plane lower than the horizontal plane of the rear of the diskvalve. When in this position the front end of the disk valve ispositioned closer toward the top wall 16 of the container and covers thepour opening 22 of the container and also closes the portion of theoutlet pour opening 46 of the cap which was formerly opened by thetilting of the container. This closes the top, thus, the disk valvepivots to permit the liquid to be poured when the container is tilted toa pouring position and then by gravity moves to a position to close theoutlet opening when the container is in an upright position.

As can best be seen in FIG. 4, when the container and cap are tilted forpouring position the disk valve 64 is.

tilted in the reverse from that shown in the FIG. 3 position, namely, inpouring position the rear end of the disk valve is positioned in a planebelow the front end thus providing the opening for the pouringoperation.

It will be readily apparent that after the contents of the container hasbeen exhausted that the device may be readily removed from the rim ofthe container and used on another container and is therefore capable ofcontinued reuse.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-closing cap adapted for detachable securement to a can orcontainer and comprising a cap body and an annular disk and in which thecap body has an annular lower wall or band or skirt forming the lowerportion of said cap body, said lower portion having means whereby thecap body is detachably secured to the container, an upper wall extendingupwardly of the.

annular lower wall, said upper wall having a spout at the front thereof,a top wall connected to said cap body and provided with a cutoutadjacent said spout to form an outlet opening adjacent said spout, saidannular disk having an annular peripheral edge, said annular disk forpivotally connecting said disk to said top wall at a point intermediatethe front and rear of the disk and inwardly of the peripheral edge ofthe disk so that when the container is tilted to pouring position thedisk will automatically pivot with respect to said outlet opening topermit passage of the container contents through said outlet opening andsaid spout, and adapted when the container is positioned in uprightposition to move by gravity to a position to close said outlet opening.

2. A cap as set forth in claim 1 in which the upper wall of the cap isflared outwardly of the lower portion, with said flared portionextending around the top wall and the front of said flared portionforming the spout of said cap.

3. A cap as set forth in claim 1 in which the cap body and disk are eachformed of a thermoplastic material such as polyethylene and in which thedisk is inserted through the bottom open end of the skirt of the capbody.

4. A cap as set forth in claim 1 in which the means for pivotallyconnecting the disk to the top wall comprises a downwardly extendingextension or post on the underside of the top wall which engages anopening in the disk.

5. A cap as set forth in claim 4 in which the extension or post ispositioned rearwardly of the vertical axis of the top wall and in whichthe opening in the disk by which the disk is connected to the extensionor post is positioned rearwardly of the vertical axis of the disk sothat when the cap is in normal upright position the front of the disk istilted downwardly in respect to the 6 front of the cap cap and ispositioned on a lower horizontal plane than the rear of the disk.

6. A cap as set forth in claim 4 in which the extension or post has apair of spaced members and in which the disk has spaced openings inengagement with said spaced members to provide the pivotal connectionbetween the top wall and the disk.

7. A cap as set forth in claim 6 in which the extension or post ispositioned rearwardly of the vertical axis of the top wall and in whichthe spaced openings in the disk valve are positioned rearwardly of thevertical axis of the disk valve so that when the cap is in normalupright position the front of the disk valve is tilted downwardly inrespect to the front of the cap and is positioned on a lower horizontalplane than the rear of the disk valve.

8. A cap as set forth in claim 6 in which the skirt of the cap body hasan annular ring inside of said skirt but connected to said skirt andspaced therefrom to provide an annular recess or groove therebetweenwhich fits over the top peripheral rim or edge of the container so thata portion of said top rim extends within said groove or recess.

9. A cap as set forth in claim 8 in which the skirt has an inwardlyextending rib or lip which engages the rim of the container fordetachable securement thereto.

10. A cap as set forth in claim 1 in which the top wall and the disk areeach of generally convexo-concave shape.

1. A self-closing cap adapted for detachable securement to a can orcontainer and comprising a cap body and an annular disk and in which thecap body has an annular lower wall or band or skirt forming the lowerportion of said cap body, said lower portion having means whereby thecap body is detachably secured to the container, an upper wall extendingupwardly of the annular lower wall, said upper wall having a spout atthe front thereof, a top wall connected to said cap body and providedwith a cutout adjacent said spout to form an outlet opening adjacentsaid spout, said annular disk having an annular peripheral edge, saidannular disk positioned in said cap body below said top wall, means forpivotally connecting said disk to said top wall at a point intermediatethe front and rear of the disk and inwardly of the peripheral edge ofthe disk so that when the container is tilted to pouring position thedisk will automatically pivot with respect to said outlet opening topermit passage of the container contents through said outlet opening andsaid spout, and adapted when the container is positioned in uprightposition to move by gravity to a position to close said outlet opening.2. A cap as set forth in claim 1 in which the upper wall of the cap isflared outwardly of the lower portion, with said flared portionextending around the top wall and the frOnt of said flared portionforming the spout of said cap.
 3. A cap as set forth in claim 1 in whichthe cap body and disk are each formed of a thermoplastic material suchas polyethylene and in which the disk is inserted through the bottomopen end of the skirt of the cap body.
 4. A cap as set forth in claim 1in which the means for pivotally connecting the disk to the top wallcomprises a downwardly extending extension or post on the underside ofthe top wall which engages an opening in the disk.
 5. A cap as set forthin claim 4 in which the extension or post is positioned rearwardly ofthe vertical axis of the top wall and in which the opening in the diskby which the disk is connected to the extension or post is positionedrearwardly of the vertical axis of the disk so that when the cap is innormal upright position the front of the disk is tilted downwardly inrespect to the front of the cap cap and is positioned on a lowerhorizontal plane than the rear of the disk.
 6. A cap as set forth inclaim 4 in which the extension or post has a pair of spaced members andin which the disk has spaced openings in engagement with said spacedmembers to provide the pivotal connection between the top wall and thedisk.
 7. A cap as set forth in claim 6 in which the extension or post ispositioned rearwardly of the vertical axis of the top wall and in whichthe spaced openings in the disk valve are positioned rearwardly of thevertical axis of the disk valve so that when the cap is in normalupright position the front of the disk valve is tilted downwardly inrespect to the front of the cap and is positioned on a lower horizontalplane than the rear of the disk valve.
 8. A cap as set forth in claim 6in which the skirt of the cap body has an annular ring inside of saidskirt but connected to said skirt and spaced therefrom to provide anannular recess or groove therebetween which fits over the top peripheralrim or edge of the container so that a portion of said top rim extendswithin said groove or recess.
 9. A cap as set forth in claim 8 in whichthe skirt has an inwardly extending rib or lip which engages the rim ofthe container for detachable securement thereto.
 10. A cap as set forthin claim 1 in which the top wall and the disk are each of generallyconvexo-concave shape.